Oft Go Awry
by Hopeful Extinction
Summary: Haruhi's mission is to see who at Ouran is bullying Mei's little brother. The plan is simple, too bad Ouran Academy is boys only.
1. Chapter 1

Honestly I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm in the beginning of a very busy semester and this is ALL I can think about.

Also, I don't really get the whole sempai/senpai thing. I understand that it's a term of respect but I cannot master the when and how of its use. So I warn you, I will not use it. If I completely understood it I would but I think it's more annoying to use it incorrectly than to not use it at all. If this is nonnegotiable in your reading, I understand and that is why I am warning you.

Please be courteous and please review.

I don't own anything especially not Ouran. I wish.

"No one is useless in this world…who lightens the burden of it for anyone else." Charles Dickens, "Our Mutual Friend"

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back

Frost, _The Road Not Taken_

Chapter 1

Haruhi grimaced as her father's friend sobbed in her arms. The chairs in the hospital were uncomfortable and her butt had fallen asleep the hour before. She looked over the man to see his daughter with a somber look on her tan face. She didn't know the pair very well except that Misuzu was a really good friend of her father's and that his two children were supposed to visit during summer break.

She saw her father's long hair appear in front of her view. "Any word yet?" He wondered, gripping two coffees.

Haruhi shook her and Misuzu lifted his head off her shoulder at the sound of a voice.

Misuzu accepted the coffee and wiped the streaks of mascara off his cheeks. "I can't believe he fell down the stairs. When did my son get so clumsy?"

Ranka sat down in a plastic seat and addressed the blonde. "Did he ever mention anything abnormal?"

"No," Mei scoffed, her voice rough from disuse. "He never said anything, not that we talk much."

Haruhi adjusted her top that was now soaked from his tears. She was now cursing herself for wearing a white baseball shirt. "Has the school said anything?"

"The headmaster sent his sincere apologies." He took a sip of the coffee and made a face. "He called it an unfortunate accident which is the understatement of the year."

"This is bullshit!" Mei burst out, slamming her palm into the empty seat on her left. "I am going to march up to that snotty rich school and stick my-"

"Watch your language," Misuzu snapped before turning and seeing Haruhi's transparent shirt. "You should've stopped me."

Haruhi waved his concerns away but he wouldn't listen.

"Please run to my apartment," He dug his keys out of his pocket. "It's not more than five minutes away from here."

"I don't know where that is," Haruhi protested but eventually acquiesced when Mei offered to take her.

The walk to the apartment was quiet. Haruhi trailed after her, comfortable with the silence. It had been years since they had been together and now didn't seem like the appropriate time for pleasantries.

Mei had just unlocked the apartment door when her phone rang. "He's fine," Mei announced as she shut her hot pink phone before looking for a shirt.

When she was done changing, Haruhi was surprised to see that Mei's facial expression was the same. "Is everything okay?" Haruhi asked lightly in an attempt to be subtle.

"For now," Mei spat, staring angrily into the passing scenery. "When he's well he'll just be sent back to that place."

Haruhi assumed she meant the school he attended. "And that's a problem?"

Mei gave her a look that questioned her intelligence. "My brother didn't fall down the stairs. Kiyoshi was pushed."

Haruhi looked startled. "Why would you think that?"

"My brother's not the same since he started there. There's more to the story than clumsiness." Mei stated pointedly.

"How do you know?" Haruhi asked bluntly.

"This," Mei pulled out a small book from her purse with a crest that contained the letters O and R in it.

Haruhi grabbed it and flipped through it. "You're reading his journal?"

"Please," Mei scoffed. "It's a diary. While it does not explicitly say it, I think it's pretty obvious."

"Say that it is true," Haruhi was merely humoring her. "What would you do?"

"If I could, I would whoop some rich ass." Mei punched her own hand threateningly. "Unfortunately, I don't know who it is and it's not like I go to that school. I tried telling my mom and she won't listen."

Haruhi wondered why Mei was telling her this.

"I really don't know what to do." Mei confessed before stopping suddenly. She grabbed Haruhi roughly. "But you could pass for a boy and you're super smart."

Haruhi was sure the first part was not a compliment. "You can't possibly be insinuating what I think you are."

"You're not insulted, look at your outfit!" Mei gestured at the cargo shorts before continuing to walk. She wouldn't insult the shirt because it was hers. "Don't act stupid, it ruins the only thing going for you."

"There is no way that- I mean I have school and-"

Mei shoved the journal into Haruhi's hands. "Just read it before you make up your mind."

**It's been a week since I started at Ouran.**

**It's weird not to see girls anywhere, not that I would ever talk to one. Not that any would talk to me.**

**Nobody talks to me here.**

**The work is harder than I am used to but it makes it exciting. When I actually have to work to get something, I know I made the right choice.**

**I feel invisible.**

Haruhi tapped the pencil on her book and glanced hesitantly at the journal. The written words of a lonely boy still echoed in her head. Before she could think, she picked up the cordless phone.

"I've been waiting for your call," Mei told her with a laugh. "An intended lawyer for commoners couldn't let the rich get away with it."

Haruhi ignored her statement because she didn't think Mei knew the difference between an investigatory reporter and a lawyer. "How would this even happen? Even if I look like a boy, there's no way they couldn't see it on my identification."

"I can find you a fake id," Mei reassured her.

_What kind of people does this girl know?_

"Then when your time is up and you transfer out, people will just assume you go to the other Ouran school for girls. It's really simple but you should probably stay and finish the year."

"This seems like a bad idea and I really have no idea why I am agreeing to this." Haruhi confessed. "I don't even know you that well."

"Think of it like you're doing a favor for someone important that's not important to you."

That didn't convince her that she was doing the right thing.

"It's really rare that we have even one scholarship student at a time," The headmaster indulged, his face stern. "So for me even to consider you to accept you, it's really a compliment."

Haruhi didn't say thank you but just stared at him blankly. She was sitting in his office for the results of her tests. Haruhi had mixed feelings on how this meeting could turn out. If she got accepted, regardless of the implications, it would make her feel proud because the Ouran Academy for boys was prestigious. The sister school did not have that same credibility. If she got in, Haruhi would feel validated.

If she was not accepted, Haruhi could go on living as if the whole brief cross dressing episode had been a dream.

He smiled suddenly. "If I gave you stationary, would you write me letters of appreciation?"

Haruhi was entertaining the idea of telling him no and then Mei couldn't get upset if she wasn't even accepted. "Would I get admitted if I did?"

Yuzuru laughed heartily before turning somber. "The other scholarship student is really quiet. I try to pop in and visit him all the time, but I think it upsets him."

"I can imagine."

"It's not really what I pictured when I accepted him." He got a faraway look on his face. "I thought that he would look at me like Daddy-Long-Legs."

"Doesn't the fact that you keep popping up negate the fact that Mr. Smith is never seen?"

Instead of begin offended, Yuzuru brightened visibly. "You've read it? Speaking of absent, where is your father?"

_He doesn't know I'm here._ Rather than admitting the truth she told him, "He works all the time. I didn't want to bother him."

"Seems like you have a void that could possibly be filled with a rich benefactor," Yuzuru muttered to himself.

Haruhi didn't hear him. "I'm sorry?"

Yuzuru chuckled softly before waving the question away. "Your test scores are exceptional. I have to wonder though why you are doing this mid-term?"

Haruhi wanted to tell him the truth that she didn't tell even consider this because she wasn't a male. "I wasn't sure that I was up to Ouran standards but then I thought that maybe I wasn't the one who should decide."

Yuzuru nodded approvingly. "Usually the scholarship student would have to test number one in each class but since you both are in the 10th grade that would be impossible. What shall we do?"

Haruhi didn't answer because he didn't look like he was actually asking her.

"Maybe you guys could take the test together or you have to get the same exact score? How about who ever receives the lower score is expelled?" He rested his head on his joined hands and smiled brightly. "So are we agreed?"

Haruhi grimaced, that was not how she wanted to help Kiyoshi. "If I can only be accepted at the expense of the other student, I would like to respectfully withdraw."

His smiled widened to painful proportions."Congratulations! You passed the character test!"

Haruhi gave him a weird look. "I didn't know there was a character test."

"There's not," He stood with a flourish and held his arms out dramatically. "Welcome to Ouran!"


	2. Chapter 2

"What loneliness is more lonely than distrust?" George Eliot, Middlemarch

"To make war all you need is intelligence. But to win you need talent and material." Ernest Hemingway, For whom the Bell Tolls

Chapter 2

"I really hope that you aren't planning to look like that every day because you will stick out like a sore thumb!" Mei scolded when she opened the door and saw the coke bottle glasses and unkempt hair.

"What does it matter?" Haruhi defended as she stepped in the apartment. "I'm supposed to look like a boy and boys don't care what they look like."

Haruhi was secretly enjoying the nonchalance that she attributed to the male gender. It was a lot easier to let your hair dry when it only met your ears rather than past your shoulders where it would get tangled. It was with a manic curiosity that she held the sharp scissors to her long hair and snipped.

Her father cried when he saw her and collapsed onto the floor of the bathroom. She justified it to him by saying that a child put gum in hair. It did not appease Ryoji but she patted him on the head and kept walking.

"Have you ever met a guy?" Mei groaned dramatically before cleaning up the mess which was her hair. "I stole some uniforms from my brother and tailored them to fit you. I also googled how to bind your chest but I forgot you have nothing to hide."

She knew she should be offended but it was the truth.

"Be careful not to draw the attention of my brother since you'll be riding the same train," Mei told her while buttoning the light blue jacket. She stepped back and whistled appreciatively. "You're a cute boy."

"Thanks," Haruhi answered hesitantly.

She barely had time to grab her back pack before Mei was pushing her out the door and telling her she had a long train ride.

Haruhi finally understood why Kiyoshi was able to write so much in his notebook on the way to and from school. She began reading his diary-oops journal-when she caught his eyes above the rim.

Mei's whole plan was being undetectable.

Nothing about Haruhi was exceptional. She was short, with brown hair and brown eyes. She would fade into the background. She could watch Kyoshi from a far and see him interact with his peers. Haruhi would take notes and report back to Mei. The plan was simple.

Haruhi liked the plan because she didn't have to do much. To any self-proclaimed lackadaisical student like herself, it sounded like heaven.

She did not account for brightness of the Ouran uniform.

He was sitting down the compartment, his eyes still trained on her. He looked a lot better than she remembered. His cast was off and was replaced with a boot. His face wasn't scratched and he wasn't heavily medicated.

Haruhi stuck out in the muted gray business suits of the morning especially to the other student in the same outfit. She shut it before she could be any more obvious and shoved it back into her bag. She tried to mold herself into the seat and disappear.

She waited until the last possible second before getting off the train.

Haruhi realized this was a bad plan too late when she had to walk slowly to stay behind a kid with a boot. Gathering her courage, she speed past him and looked the other way.

Even though she had seen the school before, it still took her breath away.

The building was imposing and it loomed over her. It made her feel insignificant and lost, almost like a child.

"Do you need help?" A male wearing the Ouran uniform asked slowly. He was attempting to look helpful but he could not mask the disdain in his tone.

"Um no," Haruhi exclaimed, before scurrying toward her first class.

Haruhi forgot what it was like to be new so she was surprised when the teacher called her up to front.

"Would you like to introduce yourself to the class?" The teacher, Mr. Itou, asked.

Refusing to would be a bad way to start the school year so Haruhi trudged her way up to the front.

"There's not really much to say." She said unenthusiastically. "Besides that I'm a scholarship student."

After a few uncomfortable seconds Mr. Itou graciously allowed the new student to sit down. The damage was already done. Whispers enveloped the class before she plopped down unceremoniously in her seat.

The whispers followed her in the hallway. They were apparent in the bathroom where she had walked in and walked back out. She decided that a bladder infection would be well worth avoiding the urinals.

The constant attention would have affected lesser students but Haruhi barely noticed it.

She was perfectly fine sitting alone at an empty table and pulling out her lunch. She had settled in and pulled out one of her books from her morning class when she was interrupted.

A throat cleared in front of her.

She turned the page, engrossed in the text.

The throat cleared itself again.

Haruhi took a bite out of her lunch, her eyes never straying.

Two hands slapped down on the table in front of her and she jumped.

A tall male stood in front of her. He ran a hand through his blond hair and he smiled impressively. His violet eyes sparkled as he announced loudly, "Welcome to Ouran Academy scholarship student!"

If Haruhi cared about looks then the vision of the beautiful man in front of her might have been remarkable. She didn't, therefore it wasn't. In fact, it was downright annoying especially if one included his statement. Could she be anymore ostracized? She could literally feel the eyes of the entire cafeteria.

Her eyes slid back to her book, dismissing him without a response.

Tamaki slumped over and shuffled back to his table. He looked over his shoulder at the impassive new student and bit back a cry. He only let it out when he was back at the table.

"I told you not to go over there," Kyoya scolded before turning his attention to the folder in his hands.

"It's okay Tama," Honey handed him a piece of cake while patting his back soothingly. "Eat this; it'll make you feel better!"

"He hates me!" He whined as he pushed the cake away, too upset to eat.

"Maybe if you didn't insist on introducing yourself to every new student," Hikaru goaded.

Tamaki puffed his chest up. "As president of the Welcome committee it is my duty-"

Karou cut him off. "There is no organization like that."

Hikaru put his hand up and said as an aside. "It's more like Tamaki is desperate to make new friends committee."

Karou nodded his head solemnly. "It's sad that he's the only member."

The twins began snickering loudly.

Haruhi glanced at a particularly boisterous table and saw the blond jerk from before sitting there. He was surrounded by laughing friends.

He perked up as he caught her eye but wilted as she blatantly glared. _Damn rich people having a joke at the expense of the scholarship student._

She glanced at her watch before packing her stuff up and leaving the cafeteria, the snickers following her out. She was a bit early for her next class but decided that it would make a good impression on her teacher. She had opened the heavy oak door when she caught Kiyoshi's eye.

Unprepared to be alone with him in the classroom, Haruhi jumped back and the let the door shut. She decided that the ten minutes before the end of lunch could be spent in the library and began turning around when she slammed into something.

Her books clattered to the floor and she looked up to the culprit.

_It was him!_

Haruhi could barely contain the urge to scream in frustration. "Are you harassing me?" She burst out. _Maybe Mei was right…_

His face turned red as he bent down and struggled to gather her books. He opened his mouth to apologize profusely when she grabbed the books from him and bent down to get the rest.

She paused before standing up and met his beautiful violet eyes. "Why are you doing this?"

"D-doing what?" He sputtered, confused at the proximity and the question.

Haruhi huffed. "Just leave me alone."

She left him on his knees and hurried to the library. She hoped she would be able to remember the way from the tour but didn't dare to stop and ask for directions lest she get into more tiffs.

Tamaki just stared after him still unsure of what transpired.

Maybe it was wrong to follow him out of the cafeteria.

He thought that maybe if he could approach him without an audience and explain that he was the headmaster's son and took it as his obligation to welcome any newcomers. He did not mean to harm or embarrass him in any way.

It was understandable that the scholarship student was intimidated into silence. He was, after all, a very striking vision. His light hair color was extremely agreeable with the blue jacket. He was tall especially compared to the scholarship student.

He was surprised at how small he was.

He had gotten up to follow him as soon as the doors shut. He ignored his friends' questions and darted after the tiny figure. Sure, he was taller than Honey but most people were. Maybe it was because he knew what Honey could do that made him seem taller than four foot nine.

The scholarship student seemed much more fragile.

He was excited when his father told him of another scholarship student over summer break.

Tamaki envisioned their initial meeting quite different.

At first, he was upset because he wasn't in his grade. Tamaki didn't think it was fair for the 10th grade class to get two scholarship students. Were the only smart commoners in that grade?

But Tamaki bounced back and anticipated a grand lunch meeting. He imagined they would be instant best friends and he would fit seamlessly into his group. He had his cook make an extra special meal so he could bring it for his new friend on his first day. He only told Kyoya his plan because he feared ridicule from the twins. Kyoya told him he was ridiculous.

As Tamaki kneeled dumfounded in the hallway and surrounded by milling students, he realized that Kyoya was always right no matter how much he wished he was not.

"We have to get to class."

Tamaki looked over his shoulder to see Kyoya.

"We'll be late if you do not stop this insipid moping." Though his words were harsh, Kyoya bent over to grab the discarded lunch.

"You're right," Tamaki finally muttered. He stood up and joined the moving crowd.

"You'll try again won't you?" Kyoya asked Tamaki.

Tamaki did not answer until they had reached their seats.

"Yes," He announced with grim determination before turning the page to the one written on the board.

The ten minutes was almost up when Haruhi reached the library and she was forced to turn around and head for class. She reached her classroom a few minutes after the lesson had begun. All eyes were on her as she was reprimanded but she only noticed one pair.

It was the first day and already she had broken the only rule.

How was she going to survive seven more months?


End file.
